Photo of the Day, Natural History Photography Blog

Photo of Jupiter and its moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede

Last night as I put my daughter to bed, we looked out her window. The moon was bright and clear, and below and just to the right of the moon was an especially bright star. When we noticed smaller specks of light near the bright “star”, we realized that we were in fact looking at the planet Jupiter and that the small specks were several of Jupiter’s moons.

Jupiter and moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede (right to left).

Garry McCarthy had mentioned that Jupiter was as close to Earth now as it will be for years, and had showed me a nice photo of Jupiter and its moons that he shot from his backyard. So I got out the tripod, my longest lens and set them up in the backyard, and had my daughters come out in the backyard to take a look. They were pretty stoked at being able to see another planet and a few of its moons. We swung the lens a few degrees and aimed it at the moon, and were pleased to view the fantastic details visible on the moon. My youngest asked what the rough edges of the moon were, and I told her they were “mountains on the moon” — which they are (they are the ridges of craters viewed on edge). It is amazing to me that we were able to clearly discern the moons of another planet, and indeed a bit of the bands of Jupiter, with consumer camera equipment. Granted, the lens is a high quality 500mm lens (one of the big ones you see at sporting events) but it is not meant for astronomical use.

Speaking of Garry, when we were camped at the Eureka Dunes in the remote northern reaches of Death Valley National Park, we had clear skies and superb conditions for stargazing. Garry knew exactly when the International Space Station would be making a flyby over us that very night, and it coincided with dusk. He told John Moore and me where on the horizon the Space Station would appear, and at what minute and how long it would take to cross the sky. Given the length of time it would be visible (which determined the shutter speed), I guessed at the correct exposure and set my aperture and ISO, opened the shutter a minute before the Space Station was scheduled to appear and closed it when the Space Station entered the shadow of the Earth. This is the result:

International Space Station flys over Death Valley shortly after sunset. Image ID: 25247   Location: Earth Orbit, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, The Universe

Exposure notes: The photos of Jupiter and the Moon were made with a Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 500mm f/4 lens with stacked 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters. The photo of the International Space Station was made with Canon 1Ds Mark II and Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.

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I have moved. My new address and phone number are:

Phillip Colla Photography
8021 Paseo Arrayan
Carlsbad, CA 92009 USA

Phone: (760) 652-5350

Email remains the same: oceanlight@oceanlight.com

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Check out our selection of sea otter stock photos.

The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is found along the coasts of the northeastern Pacific ocean. Sea otters are marine mammals. Adult sea otters weigh about 30 to 100 lb. Sea otters are the largest species in the weasel family, but are considered the smallest of the marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals who rely on thick blubber, the sea otter’s insulation comes from thick fur which is the densest fur in the animal kingdom. Sea otters inhabit nearshore environments where they dive and forage for food along the sea floor. Sea otters prey upon marine invertebrates including sea urchins, molluscs and crustaceans. Occasionally sea otters will consume fish. The foraging and eating habits of the sea otter are significant in several ways. First, sea otters use of rocks to open shells, meaning sea otters are one of the few mammal species to use tools. In most of its range, the sea otter’s presence serves to control sea urchin populations which, if left unchecked, would grow to levels damaging to kelp forest ecosystems. Notably, the sea otter preys upon certain animals (abalone, urchin) that are valued by humans as food, leading to conflicts between sea otters and fisheries.

A sea otter, looking at the photographer as it forages for food in Elkhorn Slough. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA. Image: 21611   Species: Enhydra lutris Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Sea otter populations were once estimated to be between 150,000–300,000. Sea otters were heavily hunted in the 1700’s and 1800’s for their fur, leading to a decline in the world population to as few as an estimated 1,000–2,000 otters. A ban on hunting sea otters was initiated which, along with conservation efforts and reintroduction programs, led to a rebound in the population which now spans about 2/3 of its original range. The sea otter is still considered an endangered species.

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